CLAREMONT – The Planning Board approved a site plan Monday for a Starbucks coffee shop, bringing the number of large coffee chains on Washington Street to three.
Earlier this year, the board approved a site plan for Aroma Joe’s, now under construction at the corner of Winter Street. Dunkin also has locations on Washington Street and Charlestown Road.
The 2,145-square-foot Starbucks, with interior and exterior seating, will be constructed at 356 Washington St. following the demolition of the Claremont Savings Bank building on the parcel. The building has been vacant for several years, but there is a drive-up ATM. A new 1,400-square-foot, two-lane canopy structure with an interactive teller machine (ITM) for the bank will also be constructed.
The site will have a 12-vehicle drive-thru lane, a bypass lane, and 28 parking spaces located to the southeast and northwest of the building. Other improvements include landscaping, drive aisles, site lighting, and utility services. The project includes a 380-square-foot concrete patio on the western side of the building for outdoor seating.
There will be two driveways at the site – an 18-foot-wide right-turn-in near where the current driveway is, and a 12-foot-wide right-turn-out. Starbucks customers can also enter and exit onto Washington Street at the traffic signal just west, between Hubert’s Department Store and Cumberland Farms.
An easement from Hubert’s will allow customers to cross its parking lot to enter Starbucks, said Sam Malafronte, project manager with Solli Engineering Inc., of Quincy, Mass., representing the applicant. Drivers wishing to turn left out of the property will be directed to the traffic signal.
“The reason we have the exit a little bit narrower is because we are trying to restrict left turn movement on to Washington Street,” Malafronte told the board. “We are forcing people with a right in and right out, and we have adequate signage and pavement markings to reflect that.”
Malafronte also said they would agree to placing a crosswalk marking at Hubert’s for customers crossing the parking lot to the store. Additionally, they will make it clear that Hubert’s parking lot is not for Starbucks customers.
Clarebank Inc. owns the 2-acre parcel. The land and 2,276-square-foot building, constructed in 1982, are currently assessed at $595,600.
Malafronte said Tuesday the applicant is looking to break ground before winter, but he is not certain that will happen because of the need to pull permits and complete other preconstruction work. The proposed hours of the coffee shop will be 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. seven days a week, but that could change depending on demand.
